Academic Programs

Students can expect to enroll in 4 courses (for a total of 16 credits), comprised of 2 mandatory courses and 2 electives. 

Students are required to complete the following two courses (please see descriptions below):

• Field Research in Tropical Ecology (4 credits)

• Natural Resource Economics (4 credits)

Students select two additional courses from among those on the following list:

• West African History and Culture (4 credits)

• Society and the Environment (4 credits)

• Spanish Language and West African Literature (4 credits)

Required Courses Description

Field Research in Tropical Ecology (4 credits)

This course is an intensive field course designed specifically to provide students with the opportunity to undertake a field research project in a tropical forest. More specifically, each student will be guided through the entire field research process, from the selection and design of her/his project, through project implementation, through completion of the research project report. The objective of this course is to provide each student with her/his first field research experience in tropical ecology while, at the same time, making a meaningful contribution to scientific knowledge and conservation on Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea. Students will conduct 10-14 days of field research. At least some of the students participating in this course will produce results worthy of publication. This course provides much field experience in a short time, helps students determine whether they wish to pursue a career in field biology and conservation, and may serve as a stepping-stone to such a career.

Each course consists of 6-12 students from North America and of up to 10 students from the Universidad Nacional de Guinea Ecuatorial. The course takes advantage of the excellent field research opportunities to be found in the Gran Caldera and Southern Highlands Scientific Reserve on the southern one-third of Bioko Island, as well as of the presence of the staff of Arcadia University's Bioko Biodiversity Protection Project and of the Universidad Nacional de Guinea Ecuatorial. The course is held at the Moka Wildlife Center which is located on the edge of the Scientific Reserve near the village of Moka. The Moka Wildlife Center is at 1,350 m a.s.l. (4,400 ft) on the edge of lower montane forest. From here, the measured, marked and mapped Moka Research Trail System gives access to a continuum of forest types, from lowland forest at 700 m (2,300 ft) to montane forest at 1,830 m a.s.l. (6,000 ft) on Pico de Biao (where the crater lake Lago de Biao is located).

The Moka Research Area is rich in species of plants and animals, many of them represented by endemic and threatened species and subspecies. Bioko Island (2,017 kmē) harbors over 300 species of vertebrates, of which about 2% are endemic species and one-third are endemic subspecies. Of the 1,105 species of plants known to occur on Bioko, 4% are endemic. Bioko is arguably the most important site in Africa for primate conservation, with 11 species, nine of which are represented by endemic subspecies. Five of the species of primates on Bioko are on the internationally recognized Red List of Threatened Species and, thus, considered to be in danger of extinction. All 11 species of primates once occurred on the Moka Research Area, but at this time only seven species are known to be present (including four species of galagos).

All of the research projects conducted by students on this course are selected and designed to have direct value for the conservation of Bioko's biodiversity. Most of the projects contribute significantly to the establishment of a biodiversity baseline against which both short-term and long-term changes in the conservation status of species and ecological communities can be monitored and assessed. These data help determine priorities for conservation action on Bioko and guide the management of Bioko's biological resources.

Here are the titles of the research projects conducted by recent participants:

• Bird activity in several fruiting fig trees
• Census of great blue turacos (Corythaeola cristata) and yellow-billed turacos (Tauraco macrorhynchus)
• Monkey census for 2006
• Ecology and behavior of four species of galagos
• The effects of altitude and vegetation type on galago distribution
• A survey of galagos, owls, and hyrax
• Chameleon diversity, density and ecology
• Location, sustainability, density and population structure of Prunus Africana
• Forest regeneration: a comparative study of tree plots focusing on the population and basal area variance
at differing post-clearance intervals
• Density of fig trees (Ficus spp.) along the Rio Teo
• Wild plants, their local names, and their uses
• Tree community structure of transition forest
• Tree community structure of montane forest
• Survey of butterfly species in transition forest
• Survey of butterfly species in montane forest
• Columns of Dorylus sp.: movement of ants and objects

The Field Research in Tropical Ecology course is lead by Dr. Tom Butynski, Senior Conservation Biologist of the Bioko Biodiversity Protection Program. He has worked as a field biologist and conservationists in Africa for 37 years, mostly in Botswana, Uganda, Equatorial Guinea, Tanzania, Kenya, and Democratic Republic of Congo. His primary research interests relate to the taxonomy, ecology, distribution and conservation status of primates, birds, and ungulates. He is the past Director, Institute of Tropical Forest Conservation (Uganda) and, until 2006, was Director of Conservation International's 'Eastern Africa Biodiversity Hotspots Program'. Dr. Butynski has well over 100 publications and serves on more than a dozen scientific and editorial committees. He is presently one of three Editors working on the 6 volume set of books titled The Mammals of Africa (Elsevier Press).

It is expected that each Field Research in Tropical Ecology course will also be supported by at least one expert in some aspect of tropical ecology research and conservation. These 'Visiting Experts' will be present during at least the first week of the course while students are designing and testing their project methods, and selecting their research plots/transects. During recent field research programs, Mr. Quentin Luke (field botanist with the East Africa Herbarium and with Missouri Botanical Garden), and Mr. Steven Collins (butterfly expert and Director, Africa Butterfly Research Institute) came from Nairobi, Kenya, to work with students in the field.

Natural Resource Economics (4 credits)

This course explores the field of economics known as natural resource economics. In this course we will examine theories of efficient utilization of natural resources; issues related to inefficient use; when markets perform successfully and when they fail; the role of government to promote efficient use; externalities; discounting; nonrenewable, renewable and recyclable resources; and sustainability. The course relies extensively on graphical analyses to make it accessible to students who are not economics majors.

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Additional Courses Description

Society and the Environment (4 credits)

Through intensive academic coursework and extensive field study, the Arcadia University Center for Education Abroad program aims to cultivate an appreciation for tropical ecosystems and their preservation as part of the development and economic growth of the small, West African country of Equatorial Guinea. This course is designed to provide a clearer understanding of how environmental value systems evolve for individuals, groups, political systems, nations, cultures and civilizations. It offers a unique opportunity for students to further their understanding of third world sustainable development as well as service learning, examining a broad range of environmental issues facing the human race from the perspective of various value systems. Taught by a US-licensed Equatorial-Guinean professor, the students benefit from unique insights into the learning styles of children in this country.  The professor will guide the participants, along with the local university students, through the creation of short presentations for primary school students about the importance of conservation to the future of their country and the world.  These presentations will be given all over Bioko Island, from the capital city of Malabo to remote villages.  The students will have the opportunity to compare the educational capacity in these two settings while discovering the problems and solutions for education in a rapidly-developing country.

West African History and Culture (4 credits)

This course presents an introduction to some of the leading themes, events and personalities related to modern West African history. The course particularly focuses on the nature of the European/African relationship in the era of the slave trade and the colonial period. The course explores how and why European powers were able to take control of the continent and how this impacted Africans and the African continent.

Spanish Language and West African Literature (4 credits)

This course will aim to provide students with an improved understanding of practical Spanish and the particular varieties used in Equatorial Guinea. Both conversational and grammatical Spanish will be taught. Works by Spanish language writers from Equatorial Guinea as well as those dealing with subjects related to tropical Africa, Equatorial Guinea in particular, will be emphasized. The texts will reinforce the importance of vocabulary used on a daily basis and give students a comfortable knowledge of the Spanish language, while exposing them to the culture and literature of the only Spanish speaking country in sub-Saharan Africa. 

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